U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 21316 / December 1, 2009
JUDGMENT OF PERMANENT INJUNCTION AND OTHER RELIEF ENTERED AGAINST DEFENDANT ABNER ALABRE
Securities and Exchange Commission v. HomePals, LLC, HomePals Investment Club, LLC, Ronnie Eugene Bass, Jr., Abner Alabre and Brian J. Taglieri, Civil Action No. 09-CV-81524-Ryskamp/Vitunac (S.D. Fla.)
The Commission announced that on November 20, 2009, the Honorable Kenneth L. Ryskamp, United States District Court Judge for the Southern District of Florida, entered a judgment of permanent injunction and other relief against Abner Alabre. Alabre has consented to the entry of an injunction against future violations of Sections 5(a), 5(c) and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. In addition to injunctive relief, the Judgment provides for disgorgement and the imposition of a civil penalty in amounts to be determined by the Court upon the Commission's motion.
Previously, the Commission filed a complaint against Alabre and others alleging that they ran a Ponzi scheme and affinity fraud that targeted Haitian-American investors residing primarily in South Florida. The Commission's complaint alleges that from April 2008 through December 2008, Defendants HomePals Investment Club, LLC and HomePals, LLC (together, HomePals), and their principals, Ronnie Eugene Bass, Jr., Alabre and Brian J. Taglieri, raised at least $14.3 million through the sale of unsecured notes to hundreds of Haitian-American investors by promising guaranteed returns of 100% every 90 days. The defendants claimed they were able to generate such spectacular returns through Bass' purported successful trading of stock options and commodities. The Commission's complaint further alleges that, in reality, Bass traded no more than $1.2 million of the $14.3 million raised, generated trading losses of 19 percent, and that HomePals used the bulk of the investor funds to repay earlier investors in typical Ponzi scheme fashion.
For more information on earlier actions in this case, see LR-21251 (Oct. 16, 2009) and LR-21265 (Oct. 29, 2009).